New Media Exposes Mercenary Group, American Private Police Force, attempting to Supplant Local Law Enforcement

Allison Bricker

Users at the DailyPaul.com spark investigation into California based APPF/Michael Hilton by Montana’s Attorney General.

HARDIN, MONTANA – On the heels of new-media journalists James O’Keefe and Hannah Giles secretly filming employees at several ACORN offices advising the two on tax evasion and how to set up a prostitution ring, users at the DailyPaul.com successfully waged a campaign to expose a ruse by the mercenaries, American Private Police Force, to literally take over the town of Hardin, Montana.

Details posted at the Daily Paul outlined an agreement between the quasi-private, Two Rivers Authority (TRA) of Hardin, Montana and California based, American Private Police Force (APPF), a paramilitary force run by convicted felon, Michael Hilton. The 10-year agreement, with an additional 10-year option, sought to install APPF as the operating contractor of the unused $20 million Hardin Detention facility.

Old-media outlets finally began to look critically into the story  after APFF rolled into Hardin driving three  Mercedes sports utility vehicles emblazoned with “Hardin Police Department” decals. Suspicious not only in part as to the mercenary drivers of the vehicles, but also due to the fact that the city of just over 3,000 has no lawfully established police department of its own and instead cedes jurisdiction under contract to the Big Horn County Sheriff’s Department.

The danger of granting a private mercenary force police powers is of course self-evident, and as such, officials from Two Rivers Authority first attempted to brush off such claims as wild unsubstantiated rumor. In fact, Albert Peterson, Vice President of TRA, claimed he was completely unaware of any agreement whatsoever to bestow police duties upon APPF, stating:

“I have no idea. I really don’t because that’s not been a part of any of the discussions we’ve had with any of them.”

Albert Peterson
Vice-President
Two-Rivers Authority
September 24th, 2009

Unfortunately, for Mr. Peterson, typical of the type who weasel their way into pseudo-authority, the AGREEMENT between TRA and APPF, outlining the police department option found its way onto the internet. The AGREEMENT exposes Two Rivers Authority as nothing more than a gang of worthless bureaucrats far too willing to subject fellow residents of Hardin to the whims of a paramilitary mercenary force; birds of a feather.

Even more disturbing, delving further into the AGREEMENT between TRA and APPF, one subsequently discovers the creation of the position of a Hardin City “Police Chief” who at their own discretion, could utilize the main jail facility to detain individuals in their custody. This second revelation fully exposes at least in my mind, the true intentions of the demented felon, Michael Hilton

We are all sickeningly familiar with the atrocities committed by mercenary thugs, carelessly glossed over as “contractors” by the nightly news such as Blackwater/Xe. Imagine the potential for tyranny with a paramilitary group not sworn in any way to uphold either the Montana or federal Constitution setting up shop in a practically new $20 million detention center compound whilst also supplanting themselves as the czars of local law enforcement.

As additional details concerning Michael Hilton’s multiple counts of theft, fraud, and general swindling finally poured out into the open, bondholders became increasingly resistant to finalize any deal at all with APPF, who just weeks prior and in the actual AGREEMENT was then known as American Police Force (APF). One would be remiss in failing to point out that simple internet searches performed by regular everyday individuals managed to expose Mr. Hilton’s criminal past, a bit of due diligence apparently outside the intellectual capacity of officers at TRA.

The tireless onslaught of phone calls by new-media journalists and concerned individuals literally flooded the offices of public officials in both Hardin and Helena, the state capitol. The public outcry led to Steve Bullock, Montana’s Attorney General to issue a CIVIL INVESTIGATION DEMAND LETTER to both TRA and APPF seeking verification of the numerous representations stated publicly and on the APPF website throughout negotiations over the detention facility. A formal response to the letter is due from both parties no later than today. As of this morning however, only TRA had filed their answers with the Attorney General’s office.

Continuing pressure exerted by the new-media culminated this past Friday when APPF announced it was fully withdrawing from the Hardin Detention Center deal. According to the group’s spokeswoman, Becky Shay, the last she saw her boss, Michael Hilton and his entourage of paramilitary thugs, they were headed out of Hardin towards California in two of the now infamous black Mercedes SUV’s.

The sheer arrogant audacity continuing to be displayed by officials from TRA is entirely shameful. Removal of all of these pull-peddling scoundrels from their positions at TRA would be a much kinder form of public shaming than the punishments reserved for scoundrels such as this during the War for Independence, although the latter would perhaps be more appropriate. The only direct consequence suffered thus far by those at TRA has been the suspension of Gregory Smith, TRA’s Executive Director. The good people of Hardin, have been snookered one-time too many,in my opinion. Prudence indeed may guide them to find an appropriate use for the public snow job known as the Hardin Detention Center, perhaps as a facility to “detain” the pull peddlers at TRA who were willing to subject the people of Hardin to the likes of a group of paramilitary mercenaries.

Related Material(s)
	MONTANA Legislative Services Division “HARDIN DETENTION CENTER CONTROVERSY” (PDF 322Kb) STATE of MONTANA “CIVIL DEMAND LETTER” to APPF (PDF 344Kb) Agreement between Two Rivers Authority and American Private Police Force (PDF 427Kb)